Simple
by etherealdiscord
Summary: [Post Silence] Grace Polk's life could never be simple, could it? Of course not. Because if it had been simple, than she wouldn't have just had been making out with her best friend's little brother..
1. Chapter One

**AN: Yay. No long note at the start. JoA's not mine. Grace isn't mine. Luke isn't mine. Sadly. None of the other characters are mine. Blah blah blah. And thanks to wallflower04/shadow/whatever for helping with the painful summary process.**

She couldn't believe it. There were times when she was an idiot, and this had been one of those times. She had kissed him. There had to be a full moon or some other sort of explanation for her insane behavior. She could ask Luke, chances were he would know. No.. She couldn't ask him. Talking to him right now would be a bad idea. She might end up doing something she really didn't want to do. Like make out with him. Again. She knew that she couldn't avoid him forever, he was her best friend's little brother, after all. But she didn't need to avoid him forever. Just long enough to pull her thoughts together and get her defenses back up, so she could make sure that she would never kiss him again. Of course once the kiss had ended he had offered to walk her home with that dopey kiss-mushed-brain grin on his face. She had only been able to give him a confused look before she took off alone. Thankfully, he hadn't followed.

And now, here she was, standing on her front porch, staring at the door, wondering what to do next. The way she saw it, she had three options. She could ignore it and pretend it hadn't happened, she could tell him to stay away from her and threaten his life or she could give in. While the last one sounded the most appealing, it was also the most dangerous. Life could never be simple, could it?

Snapping out of her thoughts, she reached into her jacket pocket and pulled out her key, unlocking the door. She hadn't seen her father's car in the driveway. He must have still been at his office. As she closed the front door, she heard the clanging of glass, a sign that her mother was home.

"Mom?" she called.

"Gracie! Where have you been? It's late," her mothers overly cheery voice called from the kitchen. Grace tossed her bag on the couch and picked up an empty bottle of Vodka.

"I was out. How much have you had to drink?" she asked as her mother stumbled into the living room, glass in hand.

"Only a little. Stop worrying about me Gracie. I can take care of myself," she told Grace, taking a long drink.

"Yeah, I'd like to see you call 911 while you're passed out. That would be impressive," Grace muttered.

"What was that?" her mother questioned. Grace shook her head.

"Nothing. Is dad still at work?" Her mother took another long drink.

"Is he? I don't remember him coming in," she said, taking another step towards the couch and slamming into the wall. "Gracie, could you get me the bottle in the kitchen?"

"No I can't mom. I'm going out," Grace told her, grabbing her bag.

"You just came in! Come on! Spend some time with your mother!"

"I'm on summer vacation mom. Later. I promise," Grace told her, leaving the house. Great. Now what?

----

And for the second time that night she found herself engaged in an act of idiocy. She could have gone to Rove's. She practically lived there. She could have gone anywhere. And yet, here she was, standing in the middle of the road outside of the Girardi's.

"Well.. Here goes nothing," she said quietly to herself, crossing the street and walking around to the back of the house. A few minutes later, she found herself hanging onto a pipe for dear life outside of Luke's window. Wrapping her arm and legs around it tighter so she wouldn't fall, she let go of the pipe with one hand and pounded on the window. The window swung opened and Luke stuck his head out.

"Grace?" he asked, surprised. "What are you doing?"

"What does it look like I'm doing?" she asked. "Can I come in?"

"Oh, yeah, of course," Luke said, stepping aside as Grace climbed in his window.

"What are you doing here?" he asked her.

"We need to talk," she told him.


	2. Chapter Two

**AN: People that reviewed, thanks. You guys keep me going. Much thanks to Hannah C for being a wonderful friend and putting up with me and my insanity for 6 years, and for helping me keep the characters in check this chapter. You rock.**

"Okay.." Luke said. "About what?"

"There is _not _going to be a repeat of what happened today. Got it? The way I see it, if we're going to do this, there are going to have to be some ground rules. one of those being no contact in public. No one needs to know what's going on between us, it's none of their business," Grace told him.

"What is going on between us?" Luke asked.

"Nothing. We are not dating, going out, or any other variation of the word. We will talk in public when necessary, but save conversation and making out for when we're alone."

"What?" Luke asked, getting more confused as she went on. Grace sighed.

"Can I use your computer?" He nodded.

"Yeah, sure.." Fifteen minutes later, Grace handed Luke a freshly printed document and a pen.

"Sign the bottom line," she told him.

"What is it?" he asked. She rolled her eyes.

"Read it."

"A secrecy contract?" he asked. She nodded.

"Is this.. Is this serious?" Another nod.

"Sign it or not, your choice."

"Grace-" he started.

"Luke! Come down here for a minute!" Helen yelled from downstairs. Luke looked from his bedroom door to Grace.

"Meet me in the park tomorrow afternoon. Around one. We'll talk," she told him before she climbed out his window and down the pipe.

----

She woke up to the sounds of glass shattering. Wincing, she rolled over in bed and checked the digital clock. Already noon. Grace stumbled out of bed and began digging through the clean pile of clothing on her floor, throwing on a pair of jeans and a t-shirt. Running down the stairs, she spotting her mother laying on the floor, passed out. She shook her head and crossed the room, pulling her mother up and dragging her over to the couch. She then moved into the kitchen and gathered up the half empty Vodka bottles, dumping the rest of the contents down the sink and throwing the bottles in the trash can. She then pulled open the refrigerator and pulled out the remains of the bottles, emptying them down the sink as well. Returning to the main room, she took one last look at her mother, then left the house.

----

She found Luke sitting on a bench on the far side of the park, isolated by trees. Walking over to the bench, she took a seat next to him.

"Good choice," she said, referring to the location. He didn't respond, but handed her a piece of paper.

"Here. I signed it. Both of them," he told her. Well, that hadn't been expected. She looked up at him, her eyes meeting his. "I agree to your terms." A small smile broke out across her face. She knew the contract was completely unfair, but it was something that needed to be done. It was safest for both of them that she didn't let him in at all. It wasn't fair for him to know about her burdens, and she didn't want anyone knowing about them anyway.

"I'm going to camp for a few weeks," he told her. "Can I call you when I get back?" She shook her head. That wouldn't work. Her cell phone was still in the freezer at the local 7-11, no sense in anyone stealing it since she had called to have it disconnected, just in case, and there was no way he would be getting the number to her house's main line. Far too risky.

"No. We need a meeting spot or something," she said. Then it hit her. "The abandoned café across from Mocha Mike's," she told him. It was perfect. No one had been there in months, and the outdoor patio had a small brick wall surrounding it, which would keep them out of sight. He nodded, standing up.

"I've got to get home to pack. I'll see you in two weeks?" he asked.

"Two weeks," she responded. Yes, there was a chance that this just might work.


End file.
